Battery terminal



0a. 20, 1942. N. J. ZAM 2,299,291

Y "BATTERY. TERMINAL Filed May 1, 1942 gun-up Patented Oct. 20, 1942BATTERY TERMINAL Nicholas John Zam, Toledo, Ohio, assignor ot'thirty'per cent to Albert J. Kain-is and thirty per cent to Geri-it VanWestrienen, both of Detroit, Mich.

Application May 1, 1942, Serial No. 441,313

1 Claim. (Cl. 173-259) This invention relates to improvements'in batteryterminals, and has for its object the provision of a novel, simple andeiiicient clamp of this character which is operable to efiect a positiveclamping to or release of a terminal from a battery post and is easilyand quickly adjustable to suit posts of different sizes.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, andillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a top planview of a terminal embodying the invention applied to the post of abattery, with the battery fragmentarily shown;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2-2 in Fig. l, with alever armapplied to an end of the screw member to turn the same; Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a clamp similar to Fig. 1,with the lever arm applied thereto centrally of the clamp lugs insteadof at one end of the screw member; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of Fig. 4;Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the adjusting sleeve employed inconnection with the screw member, and Fig. 7 is a side elevation of thescrew member.

Referring to the drawing, I designates a terminal post of a battery 2,and 3 a terminal embodying the invention and connected to a suitableelectrical lead 4.

The terminal 3 includes a body or clamping member 5 having an electricallead connecting portion 6 and a split post clamping portion 1, thelatter being adapted to straddle a post so as to have clampingengagement therewith, as well understood in the art. Each half 01 thesplit portion 1 terminates at its free end in a lug 8 disposed at oneside of a clamp post and being substantially parallel to and spaced fromthe other lug 8, as shown.

member as shown in Fig. 2, or a lever member l3 may be mounted on thescrew member between its two thread sections and between the lugs 8, 8,as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Inasmuch as the posts I for diiferent batteries may vary in size, it isimportant to provide means for effecting an adjustment of the threadedconnection with one or the other of the terminal lugs, so as to adaptthe terminal for posts of different sizes. It is also desirable interminals of this character to have a slight turn of the screw member,for instance a quarter or a hall turn, efiect a suflicient expansion orcontraction of the clamping portion 5 to release or engage a post.Otherwise, the battery, to thepost of which a terminal is clamped, mightinterfere with the adjusting movements of the control levers I! or l3.

The present invention accomplishes this adjustment by mounting a sleeveIS in the screw member receiving aperture of one lug 8 for turningmovements therein and by threading one end of the screw member [0 insuch sleeve, while the other member thereof is threaded in the other lugof the pair. This sleeve at one end is providedwith a tool engagingportion I5 to facilitate turning the sleeve for adjustment in the lug.The sleeve is secured in adjusted position by a set screw it engaging itthrough a side of the lug in which mounted. It is desirable to have theset screw engage the sleeve within an annular recess l1 iri itsperiphery and to make the recess sufliciently deep so that the set screwmay be released from holding engagement with the bottom of the recessand at the same time engage the side walls of the recess to preventaxial movements of the sleeve relative to the lug when adjustment isbeing eifected. This adjustment of the sleeve causes it to turn in onedirection or the other on the screw member, so as to shorten or lengthenthe spacing between the two lugs 8 to suit the post to be engaged.

By the use of this adjusting means, a nice adjustment of the clampingaction may be effected to suit the particular post in connection withwhich the terminal is to be used, so that a slight turning of the screwmember and its control arm will effect an eflicient engagement orrelease of the terminal with respect to the post.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specificconstruction, arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capable ofnumerousmodiflcations and changes without departing from the spirit ofthe claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to.secure by United States Letters Patent, is:

In a battery terminal having a split postclamping member with lugsprojecting in substantially parallel relation from the halves there ofand provided with axially aligned apertures, a

a peripheral recess, a set screw threaded in the lug and engaging in therecess to prevent axial movementsof the sleeye in the lug and also toreleasably hold the sleeve in adjusted posltion,

and a screw member having a. right thread at one end and a left threadat the other end with one end threading into the sleeve andthe other endthreading into the aperture of the lug not carrying the sleeve, wherebya turning of thescrew member will expandor contract the clamp member.NICHOLAS JOHN ZAM.

